Bottle carrier



June 8, 1943. 5 QDERKIRK 2,321,100

BOTTLE CARRIER Filed May 1942 INVENTOR. Fred 5. Ooerk/M Patented June 8,1943 ciao star orr cs 2 Claims.

This invention relates to a bottle carrier and more especially to a handcarrier for milk bottles.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of a device of thisclass which is especially designed for carrying a single milk bottle,extremely simple in construction, effective in use, readily attached toand detached from the bottle, and inexpensive to manufacture. Anotherobject of the invention is to provide a carrier of the above type whichincludes an extensible or retractable engaging means whereby the carriermay be adapted for use with bottles of somewhat varying size, and whichengaging means is sufficientl flexible in nature as to adapt itself foruse on irregularly formed bottle neck structures and to be readilyadjustable thereto.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in suchfeatures of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as willbe hereinafter more fully described and illustrated by the accompanyingdrawing.

In the drawing, Fig. l is a perspective view of a bottle carrierembodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a furtherembodiment of the invention and shows a preferred form for the bail andbottle gripping member of the carrier.

Referring now to Fig. 1 in detail, the bottle carrier comprises a wireframe consisting of a bail I l, l l extending in a plane perpendicularto that of an arcuate wire member l2 of slightly greater radius thanthat of the neck of the bottle to be carried. This frame is convenientlyconstructed of a single piece of heavy gauge wire, the ends thereofbeing turned one upon the other at some convenient point as IS, the topof the bail. A flexible chain yoke is slidably attached to each end ofthe bail. This chain yoke, when in the position [4, M at the lowerextremities of the bail, serves with the arcuate member l2 to provide agripping and lifting support about the neck of a bottle. The chain yokeis of such length that the diameter of the support, when the chain isfully retracted to th points M, i i, is slightly greater than that ofthe neck of the bottle, but less than that of the collar.

In Fig. 2 the carrier comprises the unitary wire frame embodying a bail2| and arcuate wire support 22 adapted to partially encircle and embracethe neck of a bottle. In this form of the invention, the bailrepresented by 2| is so fashioned as to provide a straight handleportion of double thickness of wire and of greater length than thediameter of the arcuate support member. The ends of the wire are securedby a sin le or multiple turn around the main body of the frame as at thepoints 23, 23.

In this embodiment shown in Fig. 2 the support provided by the arcuatewire 22 is complemented by a bead-chain yoke 25 depending from the sidesof the bail by ringed bead-chain sockets 24, 24'

slidably mounted upon either side of the bail and adapted to detachablyengage the bead-chain yoke. The nature of these sockets permitsengagement of the bead-chain at intermediate points so as to vary thelength of the yoke, where desired. This provides for adjusting the Widthof the support as required to fit bottle necks of varying size.

In order to attach the carrier about the neck of a bottle, the flexiblechain yoke is slid upwardly on the side portions of the bail above thejunction thereof with the arcuate member, which increases the width ofthe space circumscribed by the yoke and arcuate member, enabling thecarrier to be slipped over the collar of the bottle and around the neckthereof. Upon lifting, the chain yoke falls back by its own weight tothe lowermost position on the bail, thus decreasing the width of thespace within encircling members, which then engage about the neck of thebottle but cannot pass over the collar. The weight of the bottle, whenlifted by the carrier, holds the support firmly in place, but when thebottle is set down on a base, releasing the pull due to its weight, thecarrier is easily disengaged by sliding the chain yoke upwardly andremoving the carrier over the collar of the bottle.

While I have described this invention for use in connection with a milkbottle, it will be apparent that it may be applied to other types andshapes of bottle or like container having a flange or collar capable ofsustaining the weight of the bottle on the lifting element of thecarrier, as provided by the arcuate wire member and chain yoke.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. In a bottle carrier, the combination of a unitary wire frameconsisting of a bail extending in a plane perpendicular to that of anarcuate wire support of slightly larger radius than that of the neck ofa bottle, a bead-chain yoke complementing the arcuate wire member so asto grip the neck of a bottle, and ringed bead-chain sockets slidablyattached to the bail on either side and detachably engaging thebead-chain at intermediate points so as to permit variation in thelength of the yoke.

2. In a milk bottle carrier, the combination of a unitary wire frameconsisting of a bail extending in a plane perpendicular to that of asemicircular wire support of slightly larger radius than that of theneck of a milk bottle, a bead-chain yoke complementing the semicircularwire member so as to grip the neck of a bottle, and ringed bead-chainsockets slidably attached to the bail on either side and detachablyengaging the bead-chain at intermediate points so as to permit variationin the length of the yoke.

FRED E. ODERKIRK.

